In the summer of 2018 I hosted my first outdoor movie night. We hung a screen from the trampoline, put out an inexpensive projector and some reclaimed powered speakers and had a fantastic night. I’d like to do more. So I was wondering – is there anything out there I need to watch out for? Do I need to worry about pests interrupting my movie night? So I took a look to see what I could find.
So, do we have to worry about pests at an outdoor movie night? During the movie itself you’re unlikely to be pestered by more than black flies and mosquitoes, but you do need to make sure you clean up to ensure you don’t attract other pests.
You definitely want to enjoy a party like an outdoor movie night. Making sure that you don’t regret it after wards means taking a few steps before and a few steps after. Read on
Will Pests Interrupt My Movie Night?
The backyard is fully decked out. Your projector is set up and the movie screen is out. The speakers are powered on and ready, and the snacks are lined up buffet-style. If you’ve put a lot of work into getting ready for an outdoor movie night you definitely don’t want it interrupted by pests.
Whether they are rats, mosquitoes, flies, snakes, coyotes, mice, cockroaches, or other pests, they can definitely ruin a good evening. Fortunately, they break down into two categories of pests that could get in your way – those that are smart enough to be scared away by noise and flashing lights, and those that aren’t.
Rates, mice, snakes, cockroaches, skunks, and coyotes are all examples of animals you might find in your backyard that are unlikely to interrupt your movie night. In these cases, the animals are typically scared away by bright lights (like cockroaches), sounds or vibrations (snakes), or both (rats, mice, skunks, coyotes, etc…). The unfortunate part is that many of these types of pests are scavengers and while they won’t crash the party, they may show up afterwards if you haven’t cleaned up the debris.
Flies and mosquitoes are a different matter entirely, and many things about your backyard movie night might bring them down in droves. In many part farther north, flies and mosquitoes are just a fact of life for a good part of the summer and there won’t be a huge amount you can do to prevent them, but there are a few things that we can take a look at to try and minimize their impact.
How to Keep Flies Away
Horse flies, black flies, blow flies, house flies – many different names for the same kind of annoying pests. Flies aren’t attracted to sound and light but can be attracted by other things in your backyard – and things that would be out during movie night.
- Rotting fruits and vegetables, or dead beasties
- Sweets like honey, sap, syrup, honeydew, and soda/pop
- Animal droppings
- Fermented liquids like alcohol (beer, wine and liquor) and vinegar
- Rotting organics from garbage, spilled foods, and yard debris
- Other flies
And while you may not be able to banish the flies entirely (your neighbors probably won’t have taken the same steps, there are a few things you can do to try and cut down the population in advance. This should be done a day or two ahead if you can, but the day of is better than not at all.
- Clean up the yard: clean up garbage, yard waste, fallen fruit and any pulled and rotting vegetables. Get rid of rotting lumber. Pick up any animal dropping from your pets or from wild animals (although be careful it it’s raccoon droppings. Those can be dangerous.) Get rid of garbage or move it to a location as far away from the movie site as possible.
- Take a good look through the covered or hidden areas of your yard – under and behind bushes, in secluded areas, etc… and make sure there is nothing that will attract flies there.
- Wash down any areas that have been fly infested. You’ll be able to see the little black specs that are their droppings – these will in fact attract other flies but borax and water will clean that right up
- During the party cover foods and drinks as much as possible. Consider cups that have lids and straws for anything appropriate, or a method to cover up drinks between sips (like paper coasters). Cover or tent foods when not in use
How to Keep Mosquitoes Away
There are many claims that mosquitoes are attracted to light, but it looks like the scientific community is still divided about that. Some believe that artificial lights throw off their navigation (which would have been all moonlight before the advent of humanity) but it’s still not entirely clear if and how light affects them. What they are definitely attracted to is a human by-product that you can’t avoid – carbon dioxide. If you’ve got a good group watching a movie outside, you’ll definitely be expelling enough to attract mosquitoes in the right season.
Here’s how to try and keep mosquitoes away. Preparation beforehand is still important, as many of these steps can be completed before your movie gets started.
- Get rid of any standing standing water – especially if it’s stagnant. Standing water is where mosquitoes lay their eggs, so it’s a breeding ground. Anything that looks swampy is obvious, but this can also include water features that aren’t running, little ponds, buckets and kiddie pools that haven’t been emptied, and landscape that just doesn’t drain properly. If you can’t get rid of standing water consider treating it with mosquito specific insecticide.
- Load up the citronella – this can be done both with live plants (although they can’t stand frost, so you may need to put them in a planter and bring them in and out) or with produced materials like citronella oils or candles. Live plants work best, and if you’re looking at planting to reduce mosquitoes permanently, there are a variety of plants that can help.
- Spray for bugs – if you’ve got a real mosquito problem, there are insecticide sprays that can be used to clear areas of mosquitoes and keep them away. Check out your local hardware store or get in touch with an exterminator.
After preparations, you can also take steps during the party to reduce bugs.
- Use repellent – a good repellent with DEET will help keep you from being bitten.
- Wear light covered clothes and cover your feet – mosquitoes are attracted to dark colors, so wearing light clothing will help keep them away. They are also far more likely to bite the lower part of your body than the upper part – so keeping your legs and feet covered (lightly, if it’s warm outside) will also help keep them away.
- Candle time – if you don’t have mosquito repellents in your garden (or if you do!) load up on citronella candles to try and reduce the number of mosquitoes around.
How to Keep Pests Away Post-Party
After a successful night, especially a long one, and especially if it has adult beverages included, the last thing you want to do is spend time cleaning up. Unfortunately, cleaning up post party is important to keep the other pests away that wouldn’t come close while the movie was running. Mice, rats, skunks and others will be attracted to any food scraps left out and around that haven’t been properly disposed of.
To keep pests away post party:
- Start by cleaning up all the leftover food. Take it inside or properly dispose of it in a tightly closed bag inside a proper container (garbage or compost, depending on your area).
- Clean the BBQ if you used it.
- Clean up discarded beer cans, wine glasses, soda/pop bottles and cans.
- Gather and dispose of or clean (or at least bring inside) any dishes, depending if they are disposable or not.
With a little preparation, and a little work after, you can limit the impact that pests have on your movie night – and have a great backyard time. Happy screening!
